Princess Leia: Feminist or Slave?

In anticipation of The Force Awakens (going Friday!) I thought I would revive the never ending debated on Princess Leia’s slave costume in Return of the Jedi. For many of us, it was shocking with Princess Leia was out of her warrior clothes and placed into a skimpy bikini. Carrie Fisher described the metal bikini as what “supermodels wear in the seventh ring of hell” and was only in it for 150 seconds of the movie, but it spawned generations of fantasies…and debate. On the one side, you have the feminists who object to director George Lucas putting Princess Leia in a submissive position, scantily clad, in chains with Jabba the Hutt clearly making sexual overtures (as only a Hutt can). These feminists also point out that the majority of the Princes Leia toys are not Leia the warrior but Leia the slave, giving our daughters the wrong message.

Other feminists such as Carrie Fisher herself who argue that Leia was stronger than her circumstances. Princess Leia, warrior Leia, turned her position of weakness into a position of strength by choking and killing Jabba the Hutt with the chain that connected the two together.